USA may prefer Fischer among presidential candidates

Prague, Sept 26 (CTK) - The recent parallel visits to the USA by two Czech presidential candidates have shown that former PM Jan Fischer is a "more suitable" candidate than Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg from the point of view of U.S.-Czech relations, Daniel Anyz writes in daily Hospodarske noviny Wednesday.

Not that Schwarzenberg (TOP 09) had problem allying with Washington or even preferred eyeing eastern allies. This is what Czech President Vaclav Klaus tends to do, Anyz writes, adding that Klaus has never been cordially welcome in the White House.

Former U.S. president George Bush received Klaus only once, after a long reluctance, while the incumbent President Barack Obama has "completely refrained from having the pleasure," Anyz recalls.

The problem of Schwarzenberg lies elsewhere. Like his presidential candidacy, which he considers and presents as an attempt that is amusing rather than seriously meant and that is lost beforehand, he seems not to take his performance as foreign minister quite seriously either, Anyz writes.

For example, the way Schwarzenberg has negotiated about the Czech-U.S. agreement on mutual protection of investments can hardly be described as professional diplomacy, Anyz says.

The Czech Republic, dissatisfied with the present agreement, agreed to negotiate on it last year though it had previously decided to withdraw from it. If it is true what Czech officials say - that the U.S. conditions are unacceptable - Prague should have stopped the talks before the issue became the main point on the agenda of Schwarzenberg's meeting with his U.S. counterpart Hillary Clinton last week, Anyz writes.

After the meeting, Schwarzenberg was unable to tell journalists what proposals he submitted to Clinton and what progress has been achieved. It was rather evident that Schwarzenberg is simply bored by the whole affair over which he faces pressures on the Czech political scene. Bothered by the affair, Schwarzenberg shuns solving it and tends to play it down, Anyz writes.

This is no exception in Schwarzenberg's recent conduct. It seems to be a method for him to push bothersome decisions away. However, if elected Czech president, he would have to make decisions, it would be impossible for him to enjoy the post as a mere entertainment, Anyz writes.

Compared to this, Fischer's U.S. trip confirmed the seriousness of his presidential candidacy. His team evidently includes people with very good contacts with the U.S. political, analytical and academic environment, Anyz says.

For example, a meeting with Senator John McCain is far from being a routine affair. Not even Czech ministers of defence or foreign affairs always succeed in having such a meeting arranged, Anyz writes.

Fischer, who is the favourite in the early 2013 direct presidential elections, according to public opinion polls, also held talks in U.S. think-tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute, whose senior analysts directly influence the decision making of the Congress and the U.S. administration [or their Republican members in the case of the two think-tanks mentioned above]. Visiting such think-tanks is not an automatic part of Czech politicians' visits to Washington either, Anyz writes.

Fischer is obviously not a "no name" in the USA, but a man whom the U.S. scene considers the best of the Czech presidential candidates from the point of view of the U.S.-Czech relations and also of general international relations, Anyz writes, mentioning Fischer's approach to Israel as an example, Anyz writes.

The question of whether this may help Fischer on the Czech scene or if it would rather harm him is a different affair. Nevertheless, Washington may have already decided who should be the next Czech president, Anyz adds in conclusion.